The growth of tin whiskers is a very serious reliability issue that complicates the use of lead-free electronic assemblies. Specifically, the growth of such whiskers may lead to electrical short circuits and/or the ultimate failure of the electronic assemblies. Much research has been performed concerning the actual cause of such whisker growth and methods of reducing the same. Unfortunately, the research data shows very complicated, frequently conflicting test results indicating that tin whisker growth is associated with many driving forces (e.g., solder oxidization and external/internal stresses) and the various combinations of these driving forces make the growth of tin whiskers a problem that has been hard to address.